Be My Hero
by Seta-Kino
Summary: Sheldon, once again, has the chance to be a hero. Unfortunately, it might be too late.
1. Chapter 1

I know, I know. I already have another story up here. I just couldn't let this one go. I've run into a writer's block with the other one but have already started with this one altogether. I have it all planned out and everything, I promise. Please don't be mad at me! I promise you, the next chapter will earn it's "M" rating.

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><p>Knock, knock, knock.<p>

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny."

Normally, there would have been an answer to the rapping upon the door. Normally, there wouldn't have been a need for it. Normally, the person knocking would have just grabbed their spare key and just waltzed inside at a whim.

Today was anything but normal.

Heaving a sigh, Sheldon decided Penny was either not home, hungover and still sleeping or was mad at him (for the life of him, he couldn't come up with a conceivable reason as to why). Pondering for a mere moment, it was decided upon that he would venture back on over at a later time. That was, until, he had heard a groan coming from inside his neighbor's apartment. The groan had caused a red flag to go up and a mental alarm to go off.

Wasting no time, Sheldon raced back towards his apartment and snagged the key that lead directly into Penny's. There was almost no fight with the door knob and he found it rather annoying that, onc again, she hadn't listened to his advice. Unfortunately, for him, that thought was lost upon hearing yet another groan. Deep down, he knew there were numerous reasons as to why she could be groaning and hoped that he wouldn't walk in on something that he did not wish to see.

Upon entry, he followed the source of the groaning with his eyes and immediately located the heap of woman upon her kitchen floor. He thought it odd but pushed that thought aside. He wasn't about to let the 'damsel in distress' remain in anymore distress than possible.

"Penny?" He called. He could see her but wasn't getting an answer. "Penny." Trying a second time usually got a reaction from her, but there was nothing. Taking her lack of response as something to worry about (after all, he wasn't the best person in an emergency that didn't involve him), he called an ambulance and explained everything to the best of his knowledge. During this phone call, he made his way over to Penny and looked for signs of life only to discover that she was lying in her own pool of blood.

The person on the other end of the phone said that they'd be there within 20 minutes and for him to stay with her so that she wouldn't slip away. Informing them that he would be there when they arrived, he hung up and test his three other friends a text message that he'd be in the hospital with Penny.

"Sh-Sheldon?"

Blue eyes met a faded green as he looked at her. With a grace neither of them knew he had, he knelt down on both of his knees and gently moved her so that she had her head in his lap. "They told me not to move you; however, you look more comfortable like this. Do not close your eyes unless you are intending to blink."

"Wha-?" Penny's eyes were unusually heavy. She hadn't been able to recall the last time she moved. All she knew was that her head was spinning and she just wanted to close her eyes and go to sleep. Since that sounded like the best idea, she turned her head to get slightly more comfortable and started drifting off to sleep.

Seeing this, Sheldon gently shook her. He was elated to see her eyes open back up and look rather annoyed at him. "I'm just gonna nap, Sheldon." Her eyes drifted back down again and her body fell limp against his lap.

Shake, shake, shake.

"Penny."

Shake, shake, shake.

"Penny."

Shake, shake, shake!

"Penny!"

He was getting no response but wasn't giving up. It would be a cold day in hell before he would allow her to slip right through his fingers. This was his best friend in the entire world and he wasn't going to just let her go. Besides, if he was truly honest with himself he knew that she was more than just his best friend. Perhaps that's what put him into a state of shock. Penny was slipping away and he hadn't been able to do a thing about it. Worst of all, he wasn't honest with her (his Meemaw was always telling him that he should be honest with those that he truly cared about).

All in slow motion, the ambulance had arrived as well as EMTs. One by one, they filed into Penny's apartment and placed her on a stretcher. They cursed about not having a working elevator, "She'll be lucky if she makes it with as slow as we gotta go down these four flights of steps. Who the hell doesn't make sure that the elevator works?" That statement was another stab to his already guilty heart. "If she dies, it'll be a majority of my fault. As well as Leonard's." After all, he and Leonard had built those bombs and placed them in the elevator shaft that one day.

"Are you her boyfriend?" Another EMT questioned. By the look on Sheldon's face the EMT had assumed so, "Sir, if you'll please follow me to the ambulance. You may ride with the girl. I can't promise she'll make it, but I can promise that if she doesn't, you'll be the last person she sees." At Sheldon's nod, the two traveled down the four flights in silence. Sheldon's mind going over every little detail that had happened in the past four years that Penny had lived across from him.

The ride to the hospital had been rather silent. At least, it was for him. He was positive that the EMT's were doing their job to the best of their extent, but Penny wasn't responding. Something had happened to her and he wasn't there to protect her. It bothered him to no end because he could usually hear anything and everything that was happening in her apartment and with her. Was it a robbery? Did she fall and hit hurt herself like she did in the shower? There were far too many possibilities for him to consider. By the time he had gotten done listing everything, the ambulance had arrived at the hospital. Sheldon was told to wait for a doctor in the waiting room as he watched them roll Penny into the emergency room.

Since pacing back and forth didn't seem to be much of an option (he didn't want to venture too far lest the doctor pass him by), he found the most optimal spot that was closest to the door to the emergency room and waited. Mentally, he was willing any doctor to come out and tell him that Penny would be okay and would be going home that night. Realistically, he knew that wasn't going to be happening to night. Tomorrow was, however, always an option.

Soon, the rest of his friend had arrived. They hadn't had a chance to say anythinh since a doctor was approaching Sheldon with his eyes cast downward, "Are you Dr. Sheldon Cooper?"

"Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, PhD. Yes, I am."

"I'm afraid I have some terrible news for you."

Sheldon braced himself for what was surely to come. He had been unable to save Penny. He had failed to save the 'damsel in distress' and began to think that maybe he was The Joker after all. That thought didn't sit right with him and he mentally shook his head so as to clear his thoughts for a little while.

Leonard, on the other hand, was quick to jump in. "Wait, what happened? What news? Penny's dead?" His glasses had fallen a little onto the base of his nose and so he hurriedly pushed them back up to where they needed to be and continued to look between Sheldon and the doctor. He noticed that Sheldon had a very guilty look set upon his face and that the doctor looked like he wanted to say that his ex was no longer in this world. Being in this situation was all too new to him and he had no idea how to react or what to do.

"Well, are either of you family members?"

Sheldon, of course, was the first to speak. "No, we're her neighbors." He gestured to himself and Leonard, "The other two are just close friends of ours as well as hers." He paused before continuing, his mind clearly wandering (which was weird because he had always been able to focus well upon any one subject). "I was the one who found her and reported the entire incident."

"I read that in the report." The doctor looked towards Leonard and the other two, "Since Mr. Cooper-"

"Dr. Cooper."

"_Doctor_ Cooper brought her in, I only need to speak with him." The three nodded and decided to go locate the cafeteria leaving Sheldon alone with Penny's doctor, "I'm afraid she lost a substantial amount of blood. It's a miracle that she's even alive. You found her just in the nick of time." Upon Sheldon's brightened expression, the doctor added, "However, she's not responding verbally. We're running tests to see if she's aware of anybody's presence. I'm afraid it would seem that she has slipped into a coma."

That did it. Doctor Sheldon Lee Cooper, PhD had finally cracked. Everything in his world had gone black as soon as he was told all of the information. The last thing he saw was the lights on the ceiling as he fell backwards.

_Hours later -_

"Dude, you'd think something like this would wake him up. I mean, it is his laundry night." Koothrappali commented as he looked at the time, "I mean, he blows up about anything if we're not on schedule. I'm pretty sure being in a hospital isn't part of his daily routine."

"Yeah, but isn't it weird that they put him in the room next to Penny's?" Wolowitz replied with a mouth full of food, "Speaking of which, have you heard anything about her?"

"Leonard's out there talking to her nurse." A slight pause, "Hey! What happened to my doughnut, dude?"

A slight groan of pain (surely, it was a headache), Sheldon opened his eyes. "Where am I? What happened? Where is Penny?"

Koothrappali shot Wolowitz a grin, "You owe me $20." He chuckled before turning his complete attention to Sheldon, "She's in ICU right now. You fainted when you found out everything, dude. It was really weird."

"What are you not telling me?" Blue eyes narrowed at the two people that were looking at him as if he were an alien. Surely it wasn't _that_ weird for him to be asking about a friend, was it?

"Leonard's out talking to Penny's hot nurse. He should be back soon and be able to tell us whatever he found out. Although, they did explain why they wanted to tell you everything and not Leonard." Wolowitz grinned, "You sly dog. Why didn't you tell us that you were dating Penny?"

"I am doing no such thing. The EMT mistakenly took me for her boyfriend and I did not argue with her otherwise I would not have been able to ensure her safety in that ambulance ride up here. Nor would we have been told anything about her condition. Family is always the first to know. As you well know, she has no family here. The closest thing she has to family is, sadly, the four of us." Sheldon explained as he sat up on his hospital bed, "Has no one come to check on me?"

Nobody answered his rant or questions as Leonard walked into the room, "Well, I know what happened." He sighed, "Apparently she was raped earlier in the day and then got fell and hit her head. She also has a large gash on her head as well as about 10 others all over her body. She's in a coma, you guys."

"I'm going to go see her."

"Sheldon, you can't go in there! They wouldn't even let me in to see her."

"They are the idiots who think that her and I are dating. They _will_ let me in, Leonard. In the event that they come looking for me, tell them where I am. I will deal with them as they show." His eyes narrowed, "Got it?" He exited and went looking for Penny's hospital room.

"Dude, I don't think he's going to be the same until she wakes up."

"Raj, he's never going to be the same. His schedule just got ruined. He's changed so much since Penny came into all of our lives and she was his actual best friend. He cares about her. He'll never admit it and I don't even think he's aware of it. You know he won't leave until she wakes up or they pull the plug." Leonard sighed slightly. He was hoping to have another chance at Penny's heart but knew that he had a better chance of being a snowball in hell.

_In Penny's Room -_

Sheldon watched as her chest rose and fell in a steady rate. He told himself that Penny was only sleeping, that she'd wake at any time. That she'd be get up and get mad at him for staring at her as she slept. The only thing that reminded him that she wasn't _just_ sleeping was her lack of snoring. Truthfully, it scared the hell out of him. Cautiously, he made his way over to Penny's side and checked all her vitals. Deep down, he knew the doctor's had done their jobs but just wanted to check it for his own sanity's sake.

"Penny, this is no longer funny. I know that you are awake and are just toying with me. I do not wish to be punched in the throat again for waking you; however, I will wake you and deal with it if that's what this is going to come down to." His eyes searched her face, as if he'd heard her and was going to reply. Much to his chagrin, there was nothing. She was still breathing steadily and the machine was still monitoring her heart rate. It was a small comfort that he had allowed himself, but not something he wanted to continually hear.

"Doctor Cooper?"

Sheldon turned and saw the nurse (Miss Social) and nodded to her. "I'm sorry, but we have to ask you to leave. It's closing time. You can come back in tomorrow morning if you'd like. We'll give you a call about any updates in her status. I'm sorry that you're suffering this way, sir." The young nurse smiled lightly at Sheldon, who didn't seem to notice. He just nodded at her and then looked back to Penny. Slowly, he bent down and kissed her on the forehead, before whispering to her, "I will be back tomorrow. After 11 am. I know how you sleep. See to it that you're awake." He straightened up and held his head up high and exited the room. He saw Leonard waiting for him and allowed himself to feel better about the fact that he didn't have to take a bus home or (God forbid) call a taxi.

"C'mon, Sheldon. Don't worry about-"

"I am not worried. I am merely concerned with how this staff is handling the situation. I need to get home, my REM cycle will be interrupted tonight."

Leonard sighed. There was no getting through to Sheldon once his mind was set on anything. At some point, he'd have to understand that he didn't have control over everything. Shaking his head, Leonard headed towards his car and knew that Sheldon was following him.

The ride home was rather quiet as well as the ascent up the stairs. As soon as they reached their apartment, Sheldon snagged Penny's apartment key out of their bowl and set about to clean her apartment to his standards. He figured he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight and cleaning always put him at ease with everything. Heeding his own schedule, he grabbed all her clothes and placed them within her laundry basket. After the basket was filled, he made his way to his apartment and snagged his clothes. With two baskets in hand, he went on his way to the laundry room. After all, as Koothrappali had pointed out - It was his laundry night.


	2. Chapter 2

_The next morning -_

An alarm went off within the apartment of 4A. Reaching out from under a blanket, Leonard smacked the top of the alarm until it turned off and then reached for his glasses. It was 6:45 and he knew that Sheldon had been up for, at least, a half hour before him. Yawning, Leonard got ready for his day the same way he did every morning. He may not have been a creature of habit, but he wound up being one every single morning. Only, this morning there was no Sheldon to be found with food already made. As a matter of fact, there was no Sheldon at all. Briefly, it alarmed him until he realized that Sheldon was not home. At that moment, the life was scared out of him.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated with text messages from Raj and Howard.

_"Sheldon's going crazy. - Howard."_

_"Howard! Wake up! Sheldon's at the hospital and is being threatened to be taken to jail. - Raj."_

"God, how am I going to get out of this one?" Suddenly, a light bulb went off. He and Priya may not have been dating anymore, but that didn't mean that they weren't good friends either. He figured if Sheldon was to get into too much trouble, he could just call her and let her handle it. Deciding that it would, probably, be best to wait until he knew what was going on, he shot her a text.

_"Apparently Sheldon's in trouble of some sort. If it gets too bad, can I give you a call? - Leonard"_

Shoving his phone in his pocket, he got dressed and ready for the day as quickly as possible all while rushing out of the apartment and to the hospital. Knowing it was going to take some time (it was, after all, during morning rush hour) to get to the hospital he called all their jobs and told them that they all had an emergency and wouldn't be in for the next couple of days. Sheldon, Howard, Raj and himself may have been geniuses but that didn't mean that they didn't think every now and again.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by his phone ringing with the alert of a new text message.

_"There's cops here. - Howard."_

"We really need better signatures." Leonard sighed as he swiftly pulled into the parking lot and parked his car. Locking it, he made his way inside and stopped short. Howard and Raj were off to the side, probably figuring that it was better to cower from the entire thing than to be dead center in the middle of this. Causing everybody all sorts of problems was Sheldon. Right now, he wasn't living up to his normal doctoral self. Right now, he was busy throwing a temper tantrum.

"What the _fuck_ are you all starin' at?" His southern Texas drawl was heavy. Right now, his emotions were flowing vividly throughout his body but his eyes were burning with rage. Leonard briefly wondered why this entire situation was going and why Penny being in a coma was affecting him in such a way. Suddenly, it hit him. Sheldon was going through the stages of grief. He'd already figured that Penny wasn't going to wake up and was blaming everybody for it. With a groan, he knew that today was going to rank number one on his list of least favorite days.

"Sheldon? What the hell is wrong with you?" Right away, he regretted catching the genius' attention.

"You wanna know what the hell's wrong wit' me, midget? You're what's wrong wit' me! You're the reason she wasn't able ta call out fer help or anythin'!"

"How was it my fault that she was raped?"

"She woulda come over to our place instead of always goin' home. She respected your wishes an' all you did was shun her! It's all your fault, Leonard!" Surely, he wasn't in the mood to argue. He was ready to rip some heads off of some shoulders. Adrenaline could do wonders for the body and he was enjoying himself. Before he could say anything else, a doctor showed up and walked over to Sheldon. Gently, a hand was placed upon his shoulder.

"I think we should talk."

Sheldon's blue eyes glared at the man but nodded. The two doctors walked off leaving Howard, Raj and Leonard to wonder what had happened and how the hell they were going to deal with it.

Inside a more private waiting room, Sheldon and the doctor sat down. "I'm Dr. Anton." The two shook hands and Dr. Anton continued speaking, "I wanted to talk to you, son, about what happened with your girlfriend. I heard you out there in the waiting room. You're reacting no different than the others fathers and husbands we ave in this place who hear news about their loved one. You're going through the stages of grief. Don't take this lightly, comas are not the easiest thing to deal with." Clearing his throat, he continued, "Also, the other reason that I pulled you aside is that we found out what happened to your girlfriend. The nurse that said she was raped, was lying."

"She. Was. What."

"I understand what you're thinking. She's been fired and her medical license has been revoked. The closest thing she'll ever get to is watching TV crime shows and dramas." Dr. Anton sighed, "I know it's not much of a consolation, but we're not charging you or your girlfriend anything for treatment or the like. You will have the best medical staff that money can afford, without paying a cent." The look in Sheldon's eyes told Dr. Anton that it wasn't enough, "Also. Here." A piece of paper was passed between the two, "This is that nurse's address and telephone number. Feel free to do with it what you will. I'm sure you won't be the only one stopping by."

"Hn." Sheldon's mind was racing and coming up with different possibilities. Soon, he realized that Penny would wake up! Hope entered his eyes without his acknowledgement and was caught by Dr. Anton, "I don't know when she'll wake up. She is recovering at a fast pace. Go in and see her. I'm told that it's the best way to get a coma patient to wake up." Dr. Anton stood and left Sheldon to his thoughts.

Sheldon scoffed as he batted the doctor's word around inside his head. There had to be some science around what was said, there just has to be. As far as he was concerned, everything could be explained or quantified. Then again, that was science to him. By this time, his head was beginning to hurt and it was something that he wasn't sure he was able to handle. For once, thinking was beginning to hurt and that was a strange, new feeling to him.

Heading to Penny's room, he walked inside and stared at her. "People are beginning to think that I'm attracted to you, Penny. I suggest you get up so that we can prove them wrong." He let a light chuckle escape his lips, "I imagine you would be asking what I was saying. Of course, you would. However, seeing as attraction is an emotion, which are therefore not based on science. It doesn't exist in my mind if you can't quantify or prove it, in my mind." Looking away, he glanced around the room. "You room is lacking your touch. Far too clean for it to be your room. I feel I should bring some of your belongings from your apartment. Just in case you wake up when I am not here."

Finally feeling the affects of not sleeping, he folded his arms on the side of her bed and casually rested his head upon his arms. Within a matter of seconds, he fell asleep with a peaceful look upon his face.

About an hour or so later, green eyes fluttered open slowly. Penny, slowly, became aware that she wasn't in her room and that there was a weight right next to her. With as much effort as possible, she managed to turned her head a bit and saw the sleeping form of Sheldon. Trying to open speak, she opened her mouth but nothing came out. That's when she realized that there was a tube down her throat. Alarm flew through her body within a matter of seconds as she began to panic. She had no idea where she was or how she got here. Or why Sheldon's head was next to her.

Doctors rushed in and began to undue many wires and tubes while explaining to her what was going on. They did their best to not wake Sheldon, as he was a cranky guy already. Within 15 minutes, they had removed all the tubes they had in her body and left only a couple of IVs inside to monitor her. Careful not to wake the sleeping man, they left the room and left Penny to her thoughts. Sure, she had only been out for about a day, but her body was still sore. She looked at Sheldon as if he was an alien.

"Why are you here, Sheldon? I figured that Leonard would be here, begging me to wake up. Weird. Figures that Wack-A-Doodle would be here instead, wanting to make sure that nothing would go wrong with him." She chuckled softly to herself as she turned her head to look out the hospital window, "I wonder how long I've been here and how this place fit into his never changing schedule."

"I resent that."

Penny whipped her head around and saw Sheldon lifting his head off of his arms. He had sheet prints on his forearms, causing Penny to smile a little. "How long have you been up?"

"When you shifted your weight."

"Sorry, trying to get comfortable. How long was I out?"

"From when I saw you in your apartment, 15 hours." He stood up and rubbed his back. Even sleeping in such a short amount of time in an awkward position had hurt his back in a way that was completely evident in his face.

"What happened, anyway? Where's everybody else?"

"You were robbed. I told you that you should always dead-bolt your door. You never listen, Penny. Never." His eyes held fear within them. As if he were scared of her leaving him. Nevertheless, he continued speaking, "I am unaware of what was stolen in your house."

Penny's eyes closed as she moved her head from facing Sheldon. She knew why he couldn't find anything that said she was robbed. They weren't looking to steal anything of value from her apartment, they were after her. She remembered that she had a problematic customer the other day and that they had followed her home. Visibly, she shuddered.

"Do you know what they stole?"

Tears began to run down her face, "Nothing was stolen, Sheldon. I need to get out of here. I missed work and I can't afford to be in the hospital."

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><p>Yeah, it's been a little while. I'll update more as I can but a lot of personal things have happened in my life and I'm attempting to sort them out. Whatcha think so far? Also, I've got about 4,000 plots going on in my head as well as helping a friend write a story in real life. So, yeah, I promise I will update when I have the chance. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! They mean the world to me. =D<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had gone by and the doctors had been evaluating Penny's progress. Physically, she had been fine (more shook up than anything); however, mentally, she was going to take a little longer to recover.

As a matter of fact, she hadn't been allowed to drive herself home. Leonard, being the ever good friend that he was, decided to drive her home (under Sheldon's accute supervision, of course) and help her settle back into her home. The two shared a few awkward encounters while he was there.

"You're gonna be okay?"

"Good God! Yes! I'll be fine! I just wanna be left alone!"

Leonard raised his hands in defense and slowly backed out of her apartment. Quickly, he turned around and headed back into his apartment, where Sheldon was constructing something upon his computer.

"I take it from your door slamming, that she has kicked you out of her apartment."

Leonard sighed, "Yeah, but you know something I don't understand?"

"Why you're still working as an experimental physicist?"

"No." Leonard glared and Sheldon just shrugged at his own statement, "What I don't understand is why the nurse would lie about something so serious."

Sheldon clapped his hands together, "I'm so glad that you agree!" He didn't give Leonard a chance to even question his own wording, "I have a theory."

"Oh joy."

"Sarcasm?" Leonard nodded causing the taller man to roll his eyes, "I believe that they were unable to pay attention to what they were doing due to their obvious lack of intelligence." Sheldon walked over to his desk in their apartment and opened up a drawer. "While I was conversing with the doctor, he gave me the nurse's address."

Leonard's eyebrow raised. "I know I'm going to regret doing this, but why did the doctor give you their address? Isn't that against-"

"Yes, I believe it is; however, I'm assuming that in no small part of not wanting a lawsuit from Penny, he turned over the address assuming she would not press charges." Sheldon paused. "I doubt that she is even remotely aware of what went on."

"Speaking of stuff that she's not aware of ..."

Sheldon didn't like the tone of voice that Leonard was sporting. That usually meant that he was planning on asking something entirely uncomfortable for him. "What."

"Why did they assume that you were her boyfriend?"

"Oh dear Lord, you're still on that?" He sighed. "Look, I was there when they came to pick her up. She, according to the ambulance drivers, kept asking for me. Obviously they're going to assume that her and I are involved in some variant of a relationship." Sheldon just looked at Leonard and waited for the obvious retort and argument that was going to ensue.

"Are you two involved?" It was an innocent question. Sure, he was still interested in Penny and, sure, Priya and him were no longer going out. Yet, he knew that his ship with Penny had long since sailed. He just wasn't sure if he was altogether prepared to see those two together (if they ever got together at this rate). Either way, he'd deal with it when the time came.

"In what?"

"A relationship?"

"Good Lord, no!"

The shorter of the two then grinned. This is where he'd pin Sheldon. Without changing his attitude, he questioned, "Do you want to be?'

Shortly, Sheldon's face began twitching as he started at the other. The twitching was enough of an answer for Leonard. "Well, good luck to you." He smiled. "If you need me, I'm going to lay down and deal with all of this later. You might wanna go and check on Penny. She's been snapping at me and you seem to have a calming affect on her."

Sheldon nodded to Leonard before quickly exiting his apartment and was going over to apartment 4B.

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

Knock knock knock. "Penny."

After waiting the usual amount of time, nothing happened. Sheldon immediately got worried. Penny had a tendency to go off and do things without thinking. Turning around, he retreated back into his apartment and went to the bowl which held the keys. After locating the emergency key (Penny had actually locked her door - She was beginning to listen to him, apparently), Sheldon quickly made his away back across the hall and let himself into her apartment. He heard her shuffling about in her bedroom and headed that way.

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><p>AN: So, if I'm honest with myself here - I'll admit that it wasn't the best update. I had been writing this all out on paper and totally lost the story so now I've gotta re-write everything. I'm so sorry that it's been forever since I've actually updated this. I've been dealing with a few things in my life that have made it so I haven't had time to re-write things and actually update (even though I did, recently, had another story on here that was bothering me one night). I promise that there will be more chapters and that they will be longer and better. Again, so sorry for all of this. =\ Bare with me, here. I'm gonna work on it after the holidays are over and done with (and after I get back from vacation). Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. =)


	4. Chapter 4

"Penny, what are you doing?

The blonde jumped as she turned around to take in the tall form of Sheldon leaning against her door frame with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes were trained on her every movement as he took in her ragged look and the clothes overflowing from her small Hello Kitty suitcase.

"Where are you going?"

"I would've thought that you would recognize a suitcase when you see one, Sheldon." Penny's voice shook a little as she continued to shovel more and more clothes. "I'm leaving, Sheldon. I need to."

"Where are you going?" He, once again, repeated. Only, this time, there was a small hint of impatience lining his voice. Really, he wasn't asking any difficult questions. He were merely curious about where she thought she was going.

"I'm leaving, Sheldon." She repeated. She finally stopped throwing her clothing into her bag and looked up at him, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "I can't stay here. I don't know where I'm going. Every time I think of this place, all I remember is what happened here. Sheldon ... I-I was-"

"You were not raped."

"Like I don't know that? Oh my God, I'm not that stupid, Sheldon! I'm sorry that I'm not as smart as you but I should think that I would know what's going on with my own body!" Penny screeched. Sheldon opened his mouth to say something that was going to have a smart remark but promptly shut it from the icy glare that she sent his way. "Don't you dare say anything stupid right now. You wanna know why they thought you were my boyfriend? Huh? Well, you wanna know?"

"I was informed that you were asking for me."

Penny pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Yes. I was."

"Why are you going to tell me something that I am already aware of?"

"Oh my God, Sheldon!" Her arms flailed about as she stalked up to him and made sure she was in his space. "I kept asking for you because I wanted you there! I didn't want Leonard or Howard or Raj there! I wanted you there!" She inhaled sharply as she blinked away more tears, "You are the dumbest smart person I have ever met! (1)"

"Would you like me to point out all that was wrong with your statement?"

Penny stared at him for a moment. He stared back at her. "Dammit, Sheldon!"

His face was beginning to twitch a little at her constant yelling. His eyes were watching her arms still flail and with lightning speed he caught her wrist, causing her to hold completely still and stare at her wrist within his grip (which was surprisingly tight). His grip was getting tighter and tighter as he stared at her.

"Sheldon," Penny winced, "Let go. You're hurting me."

Those words seemed to have hit Sheldon a little harder than anybody else could have done. As if Penny's wrist were on fire, he dropped it but didn't move away from her. As a matter of fact, neither did she. They only seemed to stare at each other the entire time before Sheldon broke the silence, "You're not going anywhere." His voice was smooth and calm. "Also, how did you know what the nurse told me?"

Penny looked sheepish, "I told her to tell you that. I knew you all wouldn't pester me if I asked her to lie."

"She lost her job."

"What?"

"Your doctor fired her shortly after she told me what happened. I confronted the doctor and asked him to look into it."

Penny's green eyes saddened as she stared at the man in her apartment. She didn't know what to say or think. Unintentionally, she had caused a woman to lose her job. Now she was going to have to live with that guilt for the rest of her life. Running away definitely sounded like the best idea in the world right now. That in mind, she turned away from him and went back over to her bag. Silently, she struggled to zip up her bag without even lifting her head.

She grabbed her bag and attempted to leave her room but was stopped by Sheldon's unmoving body. No matter which side she moved to, he moved the same direction and stayed directly in her way. Neither were saying anything to the other and neither really planned on actually breaking this awkward (yet entirely comfortable) silence. Huffing a little, Penny put her bag down and stared up at him. "Move, Sheldon."

"No. I told you, you're not going anywhere."

"Watch me."

"I fail to see how you're going to accomplish this since I am, currently, in your way. Furthermore, I fail to see how you're going to accomplish moving when you can barely afford to keep your place in your name due to your insistent need to go shoe shopping or shopping for more things that you, simply, cannot afford." Sheldon spoke in his usual manner. Penny wanted him to be nicer, but then that wouldn't be Sheldon.

"I don't know how I'm going to do it, Sheldon. I don't know anything. All I do know is that I'm leaving. I'm not staying here anymore." She sighed before continuing, "Look, I'm sick and tired of being a waitress. I haven't got an acting job since that commercial and that was only it. Nothing else is going the way I wanted it to go, Sheldon. Nothing else. I'm a nobody. I'm washed up."

"Penny, you're not leaving."

Penny gestured to her bag, "I don't know how many times I have to say it, Sheldon, but I'm leaving. You've seen my bag. You're in my way."

"I don't plan on moving either."

"So, you're going to make me stay in a place that I don't want to stay?"

Sheldon sighed, "You do want to stay. I saw you grab the photos of all of us that you have. Obviously, you don't want to leave." Ignoring his own personal boundaries, he stepped closer to Penny (who took a few steps backwards). The two continued this little dance until she was pressed back against the wall with a little bit of fear in her eyes, "Unlike the other steroid infused males that dwell within your life - aside from Leonard, Wolowitz and Koothrappali - I am not leaving, nor am I letting you leave. I have worked too hard to accommodate you into my life and I will not let you leave so easily."

"What are you saying, Sheldon?" Her heart raced. She didn't tell him why she was asking for him in the first place while she was in the hospital. She figured she'd let him figure it out on his own. She wouldn't tell him why she snapped so easily at Leonard but was so comfortable around him. Deep down, Penny couldn't find it to admit that she cared for him and had always hoped that he would notice how she felt. Then again, that dream went out the window shortly after she had met him (she learned that he wasn't all that keen on picking up emotional cues). It wasn't like she wasn't used to being in charge of how things went in her previous relationships, it was just that she wasn't too sure that she was ready for an actual/real relationship.

Sheldon was different from every other guy that she had ever had in her life. Most guys were after sex, whereas he was only after the Nobel Prize. Penny was always up to a challenge but this challenge was more than a little rodeo challenge or seeing how long it would take until she could get the other to give in while using sex as a motive. If she got Sheldon to agree to what she was thinking, it'd be an actual relationship.

"I'm saying, Penny, that I will not allow you to leave from here. If you're worried about anything, come to me." His voice dropped. For once, he shut off his brain. Normally he wouldn't be caught dead doing anything, but something was telling him that he needed to put aside his own idiosyncrasies and help the frightened woman standing before him. Usually he wouldn't do what he was about to do, but now it was time for him to actually man up and get over some of the things. Gently reaching out, he wrapped his arms around the young blonde and held her close to his chest.

Penny went as stiff as a board as he continued to hold her against him. Her mind wandered a little as she slowly wrapped her arms around him and then proceeded to sob into his chest.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: So, I know I said that it would be a little while until I updated again. Surprise, surprise. This chapter was just bothering me to get out. After this, I'm gonna work on my other stories and update them (the story's begging for it =P). Look for more updates around mid-January. Thanks for sticking with me! =D<p> 


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